


fangirl

by jeanniel



Category: Pentatonix, Superfruit
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-15 15:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5791579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeanniel/pseuds/jeanniel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Alex is not obsessed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Entirely false. Purely for entertainment.

Alex is not obsessed.  
  
"You're obsessed," Jake says.  
  
And the thing is: he's really not, he's just really really competitive ok. There's a reason he never watches these shows; he always ends up yelling at their TV, posting on all social media and threatening everybody to vote until Jake takes his phone away from him and sits him in the corner for a time out.  
  
On screen, Nick Lachey closes out the show and Alex snatches his phone up instinctively.  
  
"Girl, this is not even a voting show."  
  
The first time he'd discovered that he and his favourite were essentially helpless in the hands of the judges, Alex had thrown the remote control across the room in horror. Now, he just grits his teeth and switches to Twitter instead.  
  
-  
  
The first time, it's out of boredom.  
  
Jake has been gone for an hour to some work event he had to attend to, leaving him alone to fend for himself. Alex rummages through the mostly empty cupboards and emerges triumphantly with a packet of ramen in one hand and coffee in the other. He dumps the noodles in a pot and carries it over to the living room. He sets it on the coffee table and sinks back into the couch, legs propped up in front of him. Carefully sipping at his hot coffee, he turns the TV on and it settles on some programme Jake had been watching before he left.  
  
_It's some singing competition,_ he realises, vaguely recalling Jake mentioning it before. A cappella or something, whatever that was. Alex is about to switch to another channel when the next group comes up. Katy Perry, really? Still, they sound pretty good. Maybe he'll keep with this show, he decides.  
  
-  
  
He doesn't. Alex forgets all about it in the following weeks, lost in a flurry of work and consecutive nights out with friends.

He's home alone again, having a quiet night to himself for the first time in awhile. Glass of wine in hand, he flicks through the channels and hey, it's that group again. _Are those tripp pants?_ But he settles back because that guy's kinda cute anyway and there's nothing else to watch. He tries to keep up with the rest of the performance but his eyes keep wandering back to the boy involuntarily. By the end of the show, it's still early, Jake's not even home yet, and he thinks he'll catch up with a few of their earlier performances before turning in.  
  
Jake stumbles in later at three in the morning, trying his best to be quiet as he closes the door behind him, and finds him on the couch.  
  
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Jake asks. He glances at the TV screen and a sort of slow realisation dawns on him. "Ok, on a scale of 1 to Carrie, how bad is it?"

Alex turns to him with wide eyes.  
  
"Ok," Jake approaches him slowly. "Ok."

  
-  
  
They win in the end, of course, they do. And it's as much his victory as it is theirs, he feels, and there are literal tears in his eyes as he stands on the couch, arms raised in triumph.  
  
Jake rolls his eyes and pulls him back down so he doesn't fall flat on his face. Alex just grins wider and tugs him in. When Jake tries to wiggle away, he just hugs him tighter.  
  
_RIght,_ he thinks happily. _That's that then._  
  
-  
  
It's getting light outside, but the only glow in the room comes from his laptop screen. He's sitting on his bed, hunched over his laptop, with a blanket draped over his head and he can't remember where he is and Alex realises that maybe, he has a problem.  
  
A problem with bright eyes, an infectious smile and a voice that soothes over the aches of the day, sets his heart at ease.  
  
He thinks he just needs to get out of there, get back into the flow of society and he'll be fine again. That's why when Travis calls, he doesn't even protest and just lets Jake drag him out of the apartment.  
  
-  
  
They're at a house he doesn't recognise, but there's pop music in the background, a drink in his hand and his friends by his side, and Alex? Alex is in his element here. So he breathes and feels a little normalcy seep back into his world.  
  
Someone lowers the music and the room quietens. "Hello."

Alex glances up mid-conversation at the front of the room, and just-- freezes. He hears someone (Travis's friend, presumably) say something further, something about congratulating his friends who have just won on a reality competition show, but his voice is tinny and far away. All Alex can focus on is the rushing in his ears, and the boy standing at the front, with his head lowered and a small smile on his face.  
  
"Oh," Jake realises who they are a little belatedly. He glances sideways at Alex in concern.  
  
Alex doesn't even look back. They begin to sing and he can't, _can't_ , look away.  
  
_  
  
The room is awash with chatter and Alex has secured a corner in the back of the room. He'd contemplated going over when the mini performance ended, but they'd stepped into their crowd of friends and he escaped to the back instead.  
  
His friends are talking to two of the group's singers right now (the girl and the tall blond one) and he can see them looking around for him, but he doesn't know how to let them know where he was without also drawing the others' attention. So he just presses his back into the wall and tries to sort of fold in on himself inconspicuously. It doesn't work, clearly, because he is a giant and Jake spots him right away. He taps Travis's arm, who looks up and starts waving him over enthusiastically. Alex turns away hurriedly and walks straight into someone coming up behind him, almost knocking him over with force of it.  
  
"I'm so sorry--" He looks up at Alex's voice and the rest of Alex's words die prematurely in his throat.  
  
It's the boy, who's smiling slightly and shaking his head, saying it's alright. And suddenly Alex doesn't know what to do next; his hand awkwardly outstretched in the space between them in a halted attempt to steady the other. He accidentally lets the silence drag out between them for a moment too long; the boy's smile slips slightly in confusion and Alex is surprised by how much he doesn't want to see that ever happen again.     
  
"I um," he says in haste. _I'm Alex._ "I voted for you."  
  
The boy blinks. "I mean, for Pentatonix. Not just for you. On the show, um." Alex is about to slink away in shame when the boy giggles, cheeks dimpling and Alex forgets to breathe.  
  
"Thanks." Up close, his smile is blinding as he takes Alex's hand. "I'm Mitch."  
  
"Alex," he breathes, fingers closing around Mitch's.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think I just asked Mitch out," Alex says hollowly. "And he said yes."

He doesn't see Mitch again until a week later, when he learns that Mitch has been surviving mainly on coffee and takeout because his band has basically been living in the studio while working on their first album, but mostly because LA is still just as new to him as he is to her. Alex remembers when he first moved here, the shiny city sprawling and foreign, and he didn't leave his apartment for a week and a half. (Afterward, Jake mentioned that he'd thought Alex was a homeless person, having emerged for the first time, when they'd passed each other in the hallway.)  
  
He _insists_ on taking Mitch to his favourite Italian place downtown for dinner.  
  
_Sure, see you tonight :)_  
  
Alex reads Mitch's text, puts his phone on the table and sits down on the couch. The reality of what he's just done sinks in. Jake glances at him briefly as he breezes past Alex on the way to the kitchen; Alex sits motionless.  
  
"I think I just asked Mitch out," Alex says hollowly. "And he said yes." A giddy smile slowly spreads across his face and he falls back onto the couch, hugging a cushion tight to his chest.  
  
Jake walks back to his room, drink in hand, and closes the door.  
  
_  
  
As he pulls up to the curb outside the studio, Alex sends Mitch a text to let him know he's arrived. The main door swings open just as Alex is getting out of his car and he looks up to see Mitch walking toward him, with Scott following closely behind.  
  
"Hey," he jogs up to them. Mitch gives him a small wave when he spots him, and the smile on Alex's face grows as their eyes meet.  
  
"Hi," Mitch smiles at him shyly and turns slightly toward Scott, who's hovering at his side. "Alex, you remember Scott. We've been in the studio the whole day with the others."  
  
He does, Mitch had introduced him to the rest of his band that night when they had come looking for him, having finally realised that Mitch had gone off in search for the bathroom an hour ago and never returned. They found them eventually, sitting in a corner tucked away from the rest of the room. Scott had stared at him with suspicious eyes throughout until Kirstie dragged him away reluctantly.  
  
Alex looks at Scott. "Hello, are you joining us too?" He asks more out of courtesy than anything then immediately regrets it.  
  
For a moment, Scott looks at him appraisingly, like he's simultaneously impressed with Alex's brilliant suggestion and annoyed he didn't think of it first. He also looks like he is actually considering taking him up on it; he half-opens his mouth, but is cut off by Mitch instantly.  
  
"No! Um, Scott still has to finish his part with Ben. Don't you, Scott." Mitch turns his head toward Scott and squints at him. Scott narrows his eyes in response and they stand there facing each other for a moment, having some sort of intense eye battle that Alex is not quite sure he really knows what it's about.  
  
Scott backs down eventually and looks away. "Yeah. Text me when you reach there, and let me know when you're coming back. Call me if you need me to pick you up."  
  
Mitch rolls his eyes, "Yes, mom."  
  
"Oh don't worry about it, I'll drive Mitch home later." Alex says in what he hopes is a reassuring manner, offering a winning smile.  
  
Alex reaches for the door and holds it open for Mitch, who looks up at him like he's surprised by it as he slides into the car. The door snicks shut as Alex closes it softly before rounding the car to the driver's side, both of them missing the dagger eyes Scott is shooting his way.  
  
He waits till Mitch is strapped and settled in to ask, "Alright?"  
  
"Yep," Mitch nods and Alex carefully pulls out onto the road.  
  
_  
  
The restaurant is dark when they reach there, however, a _closed_ sign hung above the front doors, and they end up at a nearby diner instead.  
  
They choose an empty booth near the back and the waitress brings their menus over. Alex is still kicking himself mentally for not calling ahead to check. It must show on his face because Mitch, who's been quiet since they've arrived, reaches over and touches his hand lightly.  
  
"Hey, it's ok. We can always go another time."  
  
Alex's head shoots up and his eyes immediately zero in on Mitch's hand resting on top of his. Mitch catches what he's looking at and his cheeks colour slightly, but doesn't move his hand away.  
  
"Yeah?" Alex grins hopefully. He's itching to turn his palm up to meet Mitch's but wonders if it might be too much; he's not even sure if this is actually a date.  
  
("Are you sure it's even a date?" Jake asks when he finally comes out of his room, only to find Alex still in the exact same position on the couch.  
  
"Of course!" Alex sits up indignantly.  
  
"I mean, you did kind of tell him you were a crazy obsessed fan," Jake shrugs like an uncaring individual. "Could be just a fan service gratitude type of thing."  
  
"I did not! I _barely_ even mentioned that I watched him-- his band on the show." Alex sniffs, "Besides we've been texting ever since, we're friends."  
  
"Ok," Jake says. His eyes say: okaaaay.)  
  
He is about to just go for it anyway when Mitch pulls back. Before Alex can feel mourn the loss of his touch though, Mitch sends him a small smile and looks down, fiddling with the menu as he studies it, and Alex mentally raises his middle finger at Jake. This is _totally_ a date.    
  
_  
  
"So I know you like to watch a cappella reality shows, but what else do you do?" Mitch takes a sip from his drink (some brightly coloured syrupy thing that Alex couldn't for the life of him recall the name of at the moment) that wets his lips, leaving them shiny and red.  
  
"Um." Alex swallows and tries not to stare too hard. "When I'm not slaving away at the office, I like to paint. and sometimes I take photographs."  
  
"Guess we're both sort of artists then," Mitch replies wryly, dimples deepening in his cheeks. It just might be the cutest thing Alex has ever seen.  
  
"I would love to paint you sometime," Alex blurts out. "Or photograph you, if possible."  
  
Mitch laughs, "Maybe."

It could've been the reflection from the lamp hanging directly above them, but Mitch's eyes are alight with promise and his cheeks are flushed, and Alex feels something small blossom just then in the middle of his chest.  
  
_  
  
It's a short walk from his car to the apartment where Mitch is temporarily sharing with his friends. Mitch had mentioned that he was still looking for a proper place, but the recording company was in a bit of a hurry to get started on the album while they were still fresh in the public's mind, so that was kind of taking a backseat for now. Alex measures his steps carefully so that they fall in line with Mitch's. The backs of their hands brush lightly against each other as they walk up the steps to the building and he can't help but wish he'd parked just a little further away.  
  
The elevator door opens up to a row of doors, Mitch comes to a stop in front of one of them and turns around to face him. "This is me."  
  
Alex nods, hands stuffed in his jean pockets to prevent them from doing something stupid like reaching out and pulling Mitch in.  
  
"Thanks for showing me the city, I haven't had very many chances to go around even though I've been here awhile."  
  
Alex rubs at the back of his neck. "It was barely anything, there's so much more."  
  
"Maybe next time you can show me more, we can even go to that Italian place since you missed it so much."  
  
Alex is pretty sure his grin is something stupid as he faces Mitch, who's looking back at him with an impish smile on his face. "Deal."  
  
Mitch beams, looking up at him through his lashes, and Alex's gaze flickers between his eyes and mouth. Alex starts to lean down slightly just as Mitch slowly rises onto the tip of his toes, when the door swings open behind Mitch. Their faces tilt instinctively, and he catches Mitch's cheek instead.       
  
Behind Mitch, Scott crosses his arms and watches them with narrow eyes.  
  
"Um, ok I'll text you later, good night Mitch." Alex hastily tries to back away, feeling oddly like that one time he'd gotten caught with his hand up his first boyfriend's shirt by his boyfriend's father.  
  
Before he can get too far, Mitch catches the front of his shirt gently in his hands, pulling him down a little, and presses a feather light kiss into his cheek. "Good night, Alex."  
  
 


End file.
